I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1598 

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to promote 

energy independence and self-sufficiency by providing for the use of 

net metering by certain small electric energy generation systems, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2011 

Mr. CARDOZA (for himself and Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 

addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Financial Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 

to promote energy independence and self-sufficiency by 

providing for the use of net metering by certain small 

electric energy generation systems, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Solar Opportunity and 

5 Local Access Rights Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NET METERING AND INTERCONNECTION STAND2 ARDS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 113 of the Public Utility 

4 Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2623) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) NET METERING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection and 

8 subsection (e): 

9 ‘‘(A) CUSTOMER-GENERATOR.—The term 

10 ‘customer-generator’ means the owner or oper11 ator of a qualified generation unit. 

12 ‘‘(B) ELECTRIC GENERATION UNIT.—The 

13 term ‘electric generation unit’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) a qualified generation unit; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) any electric generation unit that 

16 qualifies for net metering under a net me17 tering tariff or rule approved by a State. 

18 ‘‘(C) LOCAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.—The 

19 term ‘local distribution system’ means any sys20 tem for the distribution of electric energy to the 

21 ultimate consumer of the electricity, whether or 

22 not the owner or operator of the system is a re23 tail electric supplier. 

24 ‘‘(D) NET METERING.—The term ‘net me25 tering’ means the process of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) measuring the difference between 

2 the electricity supplied to a customer-gen3 erator and the electricity generated by the 

4 customer-generator that is delivered to a 

5 local distribution system at the same point 

6 of interconnection during an applicable 

7 billing period; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) providing an energy credit to the 

9 customer-generator in the form of a kilo10 watt-hour credit for each kilowatt-hour of 

11 energy produced by the customer-generator 

12 from a qualified generation unit. 

13 ‘‘(E) QUALIFIED GENERATION UNIT.—The 

14 term ‘qualified generation unit’ means an elec15 tric energy generation unit that uses as the en16 ergy source of the unit solar energy to generate 

17 electricity to heat or cool that— 

18 ‘‘(i) has a generating capacity of not 

19 more than 5,000 kilowatts; 

20 ‘‘(ii) is located on premises that are 

21 owned, operated, leased, or otherwise con22 trolled by the customer-generator; 

23 ‘‘(iii) operates in parallel with the re24 tail electric supplier; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) is intended primarily to offset all 

2 or part of the requirements of the cus3 tomer-generator for electric energy. 

4 ‘‘(F) RETAIL ELECTRIC SUPPLIER.—The 

5 term ‘retail electric supplier’ means any electric 

6 utility that sells electric energy to the ultimate 

7 consumer of the energy. 

8 ‘‘(2) ADOPTION.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 the date of enactment of this subsection, each State 

10 regulatory authority (with respect to each electric 

11 utility for which the State regulatory authority has 

12 ratemaking authority), and each nonregulated elec13 tric utility, shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) provide public notice and conduct a 

15 hearing with respect to the standards estab16 lished under paragraph (3); and 

17 ‘‘(B) on the basis of the hearing, adopt the 

18 standard. 

19 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF NET METERING

20 STANDARD.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each retail electric 

22 supplier shall offer to arrange (either directly or 

23 through a local distribution company or other 

24 third party) to make net metering available, on 

25 a first-come, first-served basis, to each of the 


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1 retail customers of the retail electric supplier in 

2 accordance with the requirements described in 

3 subparagraph (B) and other provisions of this 

4 subsection. 

5 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements 

6 referred to in subparagraph (A) are, with re7 spect to a retail electric supplier, that— 

8 ‘‘(i) rates and charges and contract 

9 terms and conditions for the sale of electric 

10 energy to customer-generators shall be the 

11 same as the rates and charges and con12 tract terms and conditions that would be 

13 applicable if the customer-generator did 

14 not own or operate a qualified generation 

15 unit and use a net metering system; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) each retail electric supplier shall 

17 notify all of the retail customers of the re18 tail electric supplier of the standard estab19 lished under this paragraph as soon as 

20 practicable after the adoption of the stand21 ard. 

22 ‘‘(4) NET ENERGY MEASUREMENT.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each retail electric 

24 supplier shall arrange to provide to customer25 generators who qualify for net metering under 


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1 subsection (b) an electrical energy meter capa2 ble of net metering and measuring, to the max3 imum extent practicable, the flow of electricity 

4 to or from the customer, using a single meter 

5 and single register. 

6 ‘‘(B) IMPRACTICABILITY.—In a case in 

7 which it is not practicable to provide a meter to 

8 a customer-generator under subparagraph (A), 

9 a retail electric supplier (either directly or 

10 through a local distribution company or other 

11 third party) shall, at the expense of the retail 

12 electric supplier, install 1 or more of those elec13 tric energy meters for the customer-generators 

14 concerned. 

15 ‘‘(5) BILLING.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each retail electric 

17 supplier subject to subsection (b) shall calculate 

18 the electric energy consumption for a customer 

19 using a net metering system in accordance with 

20 subparagraphs (B) through (D). 

21 ‘‘(B) MEASUREMENT OF ELECTRICITY.— 

22 The retail electric supplier shall measure the 

23 net electricity produced or consumed during the 

24 billing period using the metering installed in ac25 cordance with paragraph (4). 


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1 ‘‘(C) BILLING AND CREDITING.— 

2 ‘‘(i) BILLING.—If the electricity sup3 plied by the retail electric supplier exceeds 

4 the electricity generated by the customer5 generator during the billing period, the 

6 customer-generator shall be billed for the 

7 net electric energy supplied by the retail 

8 electric supplier in accordance with normal 

9 billing practices. 

10 ‘‘(ii) CREDITING.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If electric en12 ergy generated by the customer-gener13 ator exceeds the electric energy sup14 plied by the retail electric supplier 

15 during the billing period, the cus16 tomer-generator shall be billed for the 

17 appropriate customer charges for that 

18 billing period and credited for the ex19 cess electric energy generated during 

20 the billing period, with the credit ap21 pearing as a kilowatt-hour credit on 

22 the bill for the following billing period. 

23 ‘‘(II) APPLICATION OF CRED24 ITS.—Any kilowatt-hour credits pro25 vided to a customer-generator under 


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1 this clause shall be applied to cus2 tomer-generator electric energy con3 sumption on the following billing pe4 riod bill (except for a billing period 

5 that ends in the next calendar year). 

6 ‘‘(III) CARRYOVER OF UNUSED

7 CREDITS.—At the beginning of each 

8 12-month period, any unused kilo9 watt-hour credits remaining from the 

10 preceding year will carry over to the 

11 new 12-month period. 

12 ‘‘(D) USE OF TIME-DIFFERENTIATED

13 RATES.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro15 vided in clause (ii), if a customer-generator 

16 is using a meter and retail billing arrange17 ment that has time-differentiated rates— 

18 ‘‘(I) the kilowatt-hour credit shall 

19 be based on the ratio representing the 

20 difference in retail rates for each 

21 time-of-use rate; or 

22 ‘‘(II) the credits shall be reflected 

23 on the bill of the customer-generator 

24 as a monetary credit reflecting retail 

25 rates at the time of generation of the 


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1 electric energy by the customer-gener2 ator. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DIFFERENT TARIFFS OR SERV4 ICES.—A retail electric supplier shall offer 

5 a customer-generator the choice of a time6 differentiated energy tariff rate or a 

7 nontime-differentiated energy tariff rate, if 

8 the retail electric supplier offers the choice 

9 to customers in the same rate class as the 

10 customer-generator. 

11 ‘‘(6) PERCENT LIMITATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) 8 PERCENT LIMITATION.—The stand13 ard established under this subsection shall not 

14 apply for a calendar year in the case of a cus15 tomer-generator served by a local distribution 

16 company if the total generating capacity of all 

17 customer-generators with net metering systems 

18 served by the local distribution company in the 

19 calendar year is equal to or more than 8 per20 cent of the capacity necessary to meet the aver21 age forecasted aggregate customer peak de22 mand of the company for the calendar year. 

23 ‘‘(B) 4 PERCENT LIMITATION.—The stand24 ard established under this subsection shall not 

25 apply for a 12-month period in the case of a 


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1 customer-generator served by a local distribu2 tion company if the total generating capacity of 

3 all customer-generators with net metering sys4 tems served by the local distribution company 

5 in the calendar year using a single type of 

6 qualified generation unit is equal to or more 

7 than 4 percent of the capacity necessary to 

8 meet the forecasted aggregate customer peak 

9 demand of the company for the calendar year. 

10 ‘‘(C) RECORDS AND NOTICE.— 

11 ‘‘(i) RECORDS.—Each retail electric 

12 supplier shall maintain, and make available 

13 to the public, records of— 

14 ‘‘(I) the total generating capacity 

15 of customer-generators of the system 

16 of the retail electric supplier that are 

17 using net metering; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the type of generating sys19 tems and energy source used by the 

20 electric generating systems used by 

21 the customer-generators. 

22 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Each such retail elec23 tric supplier shall notify the State regu24 latory authority and the Commission at 

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1 pacity of the customer-generators of the 

2 retail electric supplier reaches a level that 

3 equals or exceeds— 

4 ‘‘(I) 75 percent of the limitation 

5 specified in subparagraph (B); or 

6 ‘‘(II) the limitation specified in 

7 subparagraph (B). 

8 ‘‘(7) OWNERSHIP OF CREDITS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of Fed10 eral and State laws providing renewable energy 

11 credits or greenhouse gas credits, a customer12 generator with a qualified generation unit and 

13 net metering shall be treated as owning and 

14 having title to the renewable energy attributes, 

15 renewable energy credits and greenhouse gas 

16 emission credits relating to any electricity pro17 duced by the qualified generation unit. 

18 ‘‘(B) RETAIL ELECTRIC SUPPLIERS.—No 

19 retail electric supplier shall claim title to or 

20 ownership of any renewable energy attributes, 

21 renewable energy credits, or greenhouse gas 

22 emission credits of a customer-generator as a 

23 result of interconnecting the customer-generator 

24 or providing or offering the customer-generator 

25 net metering. 


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1 ‘‘(8) SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE STAND2 ARDS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A qualified generation 

4 unit and net metering system used by a cus5 tomer-generator shall meet all applicable safety 

6 and performance and reliability standards es7 tablished by— 

8 ‘‘(i) the national electrical code; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Institute of Electrical and 

10 Electronics Engineers; 

11 ‘‘(iii) Underwriters Laboratories; or 

12 ‘‘(iv) the American National Stand13 ards Institute. 

14 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL CHARGES.—The Com15 mission shall, after consultation with State reg16 ulatory authorities and nonregulated local dis17 tribution systems and after notice and oppor18 tunity for comment, prohibit by regulation the 

19 imposition of additional charges by retail elec20 tric suppliers and local distribution systems for 

21 equipment or services for safety or performance 

22 that are in addition to those necessary to meet 

23 the standards and requirements referred to in 

24 subparagraph (A) and subsection (e). 

25 ‘‘(9) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any State regulatory 

2 authority (with respect to each electric utility 

3 for which the authority has ratemaking author4 ity), and each nonregulated electric utility, may 

5 apply to the Commission for a determination 

6 that any State net metering requirement or reg7 ulations complies with this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(B) ORDERS.—In the absence of a deter9 mination under subparagraph (A), the Commis10 sion, on the motion of the Commission or pur11 suant to the petition of any interested person, 

12 may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing 

13 on the record, issue an order requiring against 

14 any retail electric supplier or local distribution 

15 company to require compliance with this sub16 section. 

17 ‘‘(C) ENFORCEMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person who 

19 violates this subsection shall be subject to 

20 a civil penalty in the amount of $500 for 

21 each day that the violation continues. 

22 ‘‘(ii) ASSESSMENT.—The penalty may 

23 be assessed by the Commission, after no24 tice and opportunity for hearing, in the 

25 same manner as penalties are assessed 


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1 under section 31(d) of the Federal Power 

2 Act (16 U.S.C. 823b(d)). 

3 ‘‘(e) INTERCONNECTION STANDARDS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) MODEL STANDARDS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

6 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

7 the Commission shall publish model standards 

8 for the physical connection between local dis9 tribution systems and qualified generation units 

10 and electric generation units that— 

11 ‘‘(i) are qualified generation units (as 

12 defined in subsection (d)(1)(E) other than 

13 clause (ii) of subsection (d)(1)(E)); and 

14 ‘‘(ii) do not exceed 5 megawatts of ca15 pacity. 

16 ‘‘(B) PURPOSES.—The model standards 

17 shall be designed to— 

18 ‘‘(i) encourage the use of qualified 

19 generation units; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) ensure the safety and reliability 

21 of the qualified generation units and the 

22 local distribution systems interconnected 

23 with the qualified generation units. 

24 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The model stand2 ards shall have 2 separate procedures, in3 cluding— 

4 ‘‘(I) a standard for inter5 connecting qualified generation units 

6 of not more than 15 kilowatts; and 

7 ‘‘(II) a separate standard that 

8 expedites interconnection for qualified 

9 generation units of more than 15 kilo10 watts but not more than 5 megawatts. 

11 ‘‘(ii) BEST PRACTICES.—The proce12 dures shall be based on the best practices 

13 that have been used in States that have 

14 adopted interconnection standards. 

15 ‘‘(iii) MODEL RULE.—In designing the 

16 procedures, the Commission shall consider 

17 Interstate Renewable Energy Council 

18 Model Rule MR–I2005. 

19 ‘‘(D) TIMELINE.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 

21 years after the date of enactment of this 

22 subsection, each State shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) adopt the model standards 

24 established under this paragraph, with 

25 or without modification; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) submit the standards to the 

2 Commission for approval. 

3 ‘‘(ii) APPROVAL OF MODIFICATION.— 

4 The Commission shall approve a modifica5 tion of the model standards only if the 

6 Commission determines that the modifica7 tion is— 

8 ‘‘(I) consistent with or superior 

9 to the purpose of the standards; and 

10 ‘‘(II) required by reason of local 

11 conditions. 

12 ‘‘(E) NONAPPROVAL OF STANDARDS FOR A

13 STATE.—If standards have not been approved 

14 under this paragraph by the Commission for 

15 any State during the 2-year period beginning 

16 on the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

17 Commission shall, by rule or order, enforce the 

18 model standards of the Commission in the State 

19 until such time as State standards are approved 

20 by the Commission. 

21 ‘‘(F) UPDATES.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 

23 years after the date of enactment of this 

24 subsection and after notice and oppor25 tunity for comment, the Commission shall 


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1 publish an update of the model standards, 

2 after considering changes in the underlying 

3 standards and technologies. 

4 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY.—The updates 

5 shall be made available to State regulatory 

6 authorities for the consideration of the au7 thorities. 

8 ‘‘(2) SAFETY, RELIABILITY, PERFORMANCE, 

9 AND COST.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The standards under 

11 this subsection shall establish such measures 

12 for the safety and reliability of the affected 

13 equipment and local distribution systems as are 

14 appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION.—The standards 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) be consistent with all applicable 

18 safety and performance standards estab19 lished by— 

20 ‘‘(I) the national electrical code; 

21 ‘‘(II) the Institute of Electrical 

22 and Electronics Engineers; 

23 ‘‘(III) Underwriters Laboratories; 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the American National 

2 Standards Institute; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) impose not more than such min4 imum cost and technical burdens to the 

5 interconnecting customer generator as the 

6 Commission determines, by rule, are prac7 ticable. 

8 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CHARGES.—The model stand9 ards under this subsection shall prohibit the imposi10 tion of additional charges by local distribution sys11 tems for equipment or services for interconnection 

12 that are in excess of— 

13 ‘‘(A) the charges necessary to meet the 

14 standards; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the charges and equipment require16 ments identified in the best practices of States 

17 with interconnection standards. 

18 ‘‘(4) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING LAW REGARD19 ING INTERCONNECTION.—Nothing in this subsection 

20 affects the application of section 111(d)(15) relating 

21 to interconnection. 

22 ‘‘(5) CONSUMER-FRIENDLY CONTRACTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) promulgate regulations that en2 sure that simplified contracts will be used 

3 for the interconnection of electric energy 

4 by electric energy transmission or local dis5 tribution systems and generating facilities 

6 that have a power production capacity of 

7 not greater than 5,000 kilowatts; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) consider the best practices for 

9 consumer-friendly contracts that are used 

10 by States or national associations of State 

11 regulators. 

12 ‘‘(B) LIABILITY OR INSURANCE.—The con13 tracts shall not require liability or other insur14 ance in excess of the liability or insurance that 

15 is typically carried by customer-generators for 

16 general liability.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1262 of the 

18 Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

19 16451) is amended by striking paragraph (5) and insert20 ing the following: 

21 ‘‘(5) ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘electric 

23 utility company’ means any company that owns 

24 or operates facilities used for the generation, 


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1 transmission, or distribution of electric energy 

2 for sale. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘electric util4 ity company’ does not include an electric gen5 eration unit (as defined in section 113(d) of the 

6 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

7 1978).’’. 

8 SEC. 3. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAW. 

9 Section 117(b) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli10 cies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2627(b)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘Nothing’’ and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), nothing’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) NET METERING AND INTERCONNECTION

17 STANDARDS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara19 graph (B), no State or nonregulated utility may 

20 adopt or enforce any standard or requirement 

21 concerning net metering or interconnection that 

22 restricts access to the electric power trans23 mission or local distribution system by qualified 

24 generators beyond those standards and require25 ments established under section 113. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EQUIVALENT OR GREATER ACCESS.— 

2 Nothing in this Act precludes a State from 

3 adopting or enforcing incentives or require4 ments to encourage qualified generation and net 

5 metering that— 

6 ‘‘(i) are in addition to or equivalent to 

7 incentives or requirements under section 

8 113; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) afford greater access to the elec10 tric power transmission and local distribu11 tion systems by qualified generators (as 

12 defined in section 113) or afford greater 

13 compensation or credit for electricity gen14 erated by the qualified generators.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. CONTRACTS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR EXECU16 TIVE AGENCIES. 

17 Section 501(b)(1)(B) of title 40, United States Code, 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘A contract’’ and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro22 vided in clause (ii), a contract’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(ii) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—A con25 tract for renewable energy (as defined in 


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1 section 203(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 

2 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15852(b))) may be made 

3 for a period of not more than 30 years.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS BUILDING PERMIT RE5 QUIREMENTS FOR RECEIPT OF COMMUNITY 

6 DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS. 

7 Section 104 of the Housing and Community Develop8 ment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5304) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(n) REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDING PERMITS RE11 GARDING SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A grant under section 106 

13 for a fiscal year may be made only if the grantee 

14 certifies to the Secretary that— 

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of a grant under section 

16 106(a) for any Indian tribe or insular area, 

17 during such fiscal year the cost of any permit 

18 or license, for construction or installation of any 

19 solar energy system for any structure, that is 

20 required by the tribe or insular area or by any 

21 other unit of general local government or other 

22 political subdivision of such tribe or insular 

23 area, complies with paragraph (2); 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grant under section 

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1 ty, during such fiscal year the cost of any per2 mit or license, for construction or installation of 

3 any solar energy system for any structure, that 

4 is required by the metropolitan city or urban 

5 county, or by any other political subdivision of 

6 such city or county, complies with paragraph 

7 (2); and 

8 ‘‘(C) in the case of a grant under section 

9 106(d) for any State, during such fiscal year 

10 the cost of any permit or license, for construc11 tion or installation of any solar energy system 

12 for any structure, that is required by the State, 

13 or by any other unit of general local govern14 ment within any nonentitlement area of such 

15 State, or other political subdivision within any 

16 nonentitlement area of such State or such a 

17 unit of general local government, complies with 

18 paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON COST.—The cost of permit 

20 or license for construction or installation of any 

21 solar energy system complies with this paragraph 

22 only if such cost does not exceed the following 

23 amount: 


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1 ‘‘(A) RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES.—In the 

2 case of a structure primarily for residential use, 

3 $500. 

4 ‘‘(B) NONRESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES.—In 

5 the case of a structure primarily for nonresiden6 tial use, 1.0 percent of the total cost of the in7 stallation or construction of the solar energy 

8 system, but not in excess of $10,000. 

9 ‘‘(3) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary deter10 mines that a grantee of a grant made under section 

11 106 is not in compliance with a certification under 

12 paragraph (1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall notify the grantee 

14 of such determination; and 

15 ‘‘(B) if the grantee has not corrected such 

16 noncompliance before the expiration of the 6- 

17 month period beginning upon notification under 

18 subparagraph (A), such grantee shall not be eli19 gible for 5 percent of any amounts awarded 

20 under a grant under section 106 for the first 

21 fiscal year that commences after the expiration 

22 of such 6-month period. 

23 ‘‘(4) SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM.—For purposes of 

24 this subsection, the term ‘solar energy system’ 

25 means, with respect to a structure, equipment that 


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1 uses solar energy to generate electricity for, or to 

2 heat or cool (or provide hot water for use in), such 

3 structure.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF RESTRICTIONS ON RESIDENTIAL 

5 INSTALLATION OF SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM. 

6 (a) REGULATIONS.—Within 180 days after the enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

8 Development, in consultation with the Secretary of En9 ergy, shall issue regulations— 

10 (1) to prohibit any private covenant, contract 

11 provision, lease provision, homeowners’ association 

12 rule or bylaw, or similar restriction, that impairs the 

13 ability of the owner or lessee of any residential 

14 structure designed for occupancy by 1 family to in15 stall, construct, maintain, or use a solar energy sys16 tem on such residential property; and 

17 (2) to require that whenever any such covenant, 

18 provision, rule or bylaw, or restriction requires ap19 proval for the installation or use of a solar energy 

20 system, the application for approval shall be proc21 essed and approved by the appropriate approving en22 tity in the same manner as an application for ap23 proval of an architectural modification to the prop24 erty, and shall not be willfully avoided or delayed. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The regulations required under sub2 section (a) shall provide that— 

3 (1) such a covenant, provision, rule or bylaw, or 

4 restriction impairs the installation, construction, 

5 maintenance, or use of a solar energy system if it— 

6 (A) unreasonably delays or prevents instal7 lation, maintenance, or use; 

8 (B) unreasonably increases the cost of in9 stallation, maintenance, or use; or 

10 (C) precludes use of such a system; and 

11 (2) any fee or cost imposed on the owner or les12 see of such a residential structure by such a cov13 enant, provision, rule or bylaw, or restriction shall 

14 be considered unreasonable if— 

15 (A) such fee or cost is not reasonable in 

16 comparison to the cost of the solar energy sys17 tem or the value of its use; or 

18 (B) treatment of solar energy systems by 

19 the covenant, provision, rule or bylaw, or re20 striction is not reasonable in comparison with 

21 treatment of comparable systems by the same 

22 covenant, provision, rule or bylaw, or restric23 tion. 

24 (c) SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEM.—For purposes of this 

25 section, the term ‘‘solar energy system’’ means, with reVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:51 Apr 20, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1598.IH H1598

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1 spect to a structure, equipment that uses solar energy to 

2 generate electricity for, or to heat or cool (or provide hot 

3 water for use in), such structure. 

4 SEC. 7. CENTER FOR ADVANCED SOLAR RESEARCH. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Energy 

6 shall establish a Center for Advanced Solar Research and 

7 Development within the Office of Energy Efficiency and 

8 Renewable Energy to carry out an advanced solar research 

9 and development program to coordinate and promote the 

10 further development of solar technologies. This program 

11 shall include a competitive grant program for academia 

12 and private research in solar technologies. The Center 

13 shall serve as a clearinghouse for United States solar re14 search and development, supporting research, develop15 ment, and demonstration of advanced solar energy sys16 tems. The Center shall advance— 

17 (1) performance, reliability, environmental im18 pact, and cost-competitiveness of solar thermal and 

19 photovoltaic technologies; 

20 (2) large-scale photovoltaic and solar thermal 

21 power plants; 

22 (3) thermal and electricity storage technologies 

23 to enhance the dispatchability of solar energy; 

24 (4) fuel production technologies using solar en25 ergy; 


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1 (5) innovation in manufacturing techniques and 

2 processes for solar energy systems; 

3 (6) materials and devices to improve photo4 voltaic conversion efficiencies and reduce costs; 

5 (7) policy analysis aimed at increasing use of 

6 solar energy technologies, and monitoring the effec7 tiveness of existing policies; and 

8 (8) comprehensive solar systems integration. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En11 ergy for carrying out this section $25,000,000 for each 

12 of the fiscal years 2012 through 2016, to remain available 

13 until expended. 

Æ 


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